Taxicab control



June 18, 1929- L. F. GooDsPEED 1.717.602

TAXICAB CONTROL Filed Nov. so, A1923 37 m ,j www JM@ l fr@ www@ PatentedJune 18, 1929.

UNITED STATES LELAND n. Goonsrnnn, 0F KALAMAZoo, yin,icnieang TAXICABCONTROL.

Application fried Npvemher 30, 1923, serial No. armes y f My inventionrelates to commercial ve` hicles such as taxicabs and the like.

In a vehicle operated for hire or ypublic service it is desirable thattransportation ot the passenger or yother load should not ocs cui'Without the collection of a suitable charge. This is easily taken careoi if the operatorr of the vehicle .is at the same time the owner; butin the case oit vehicles owned by one interest, or individual, andoperated by a different interest or individual, the operator isinterested in the largest return to himself, and since he is the one whodeals directly with the customer or paying` public, the owner is at themercy of a dishonest operator. f

The taximeter has been introduced to cure this evil. The taxinieterregisters tare computed according to time and mileage. The operator isinstructed to pull the flag, that is, to start into operationthetaximeter as soon as the' haul begins, and is instructed to hoist-tlie Hag only when the passenger leaves the cabat the end of the trip.rrl`he Jfulfilling of instructions is a mattei' subject to enforcementand this may reqrire a corps of investigators and spies. rlhis createssuspicion and mistrust and drives 'further apart the viewpoints of theowner and the operator. I have observed that it' a mechanical laiv ofoperation can bek substituted for a rule`,the desired result isself-enforceable. i

I have provided means for compelling the enforcement of the rule lthatif a passenger occupies the cab the meter must be put' into, operationand kept so during the haul.

I do'this' by disabling the driving mechaiiism when the cab isoccupiedand permit operativeness to be restored only when the flag onthe meter is pulled. o j

While herein Iodescribe the invention as applied to taXic/abs, it is tobe understood that the invention isequally applicable to all commercialhauling and to other, problems kWhere a meter service is rendered toniembers of the public by an operatork who is not owner ot" themechanism employed in rendering such service.,

More specifically, in the preferred form of my invention, I interlockthe driving mechanism with the'passenger seat and the taximeter, sokthat if the passenger seat oc-` cupied the driving mechanism `iisdisabled until the taxiineter Hag is pulled.`

The specific means for doing this may be Widely varied Within the broadyteachings of my invention.'` o i ln order to teachftliose skilled inthe art li'ovi7 to` construct and `operate my invention, `Ishall nowdescribe a specific embodiment of the saine in connection with`tlieaccompanying drawingsiin which, K

Fig. l is aside view of a vehicle showing in diagram the connections"for interlocking the seat, the taiiiineter and the driving mechanism; m,u Fig. 2 is a sectional view rthrough the magnetically controlled kpaWland ratchet mechanism ior holding the clutch in dis# connected position;

Fig. 3 is' a section taken Fig. 2 showingthe saineg' Fig. a detailelevationy showing ther` contacts controlled by the shaft ot the `flag"on the taxiineter; and

Fig. 5 is a circuit how a signal may be substituted for the inechaiiicallock.

The vehicle vl isr a ytaxicaby of kthe usual character employingsuitable driving iiiecliv anisni, such an internal con'ibustioiiengine,asis `well understood by those skilled on line diagram "illustrating inthe art. The drivingy engine isconnectcd 'i tothe rear Wheels ythroughthe usual clutch,`

gear transmission, propeller shaft,"`aiid ditterential, all' as is Wellunderstood in the art,- and oity any preferred or ksuitable con-Lstruction. tlie'r'car, as indicated in dottedliiies ati-ef-` erciice`numeral and kit has 'the `usual drivers compartment 4 in the front withav taxiineter 5 of the usual construction, provided With a usual signalor flag 6 which is, at tliesame time, an; indicator orindi# eatin gtlieioccupied or unoccupied condition of the cabr and forindicatingtliatthe meter is in registering or non-registering position.The construction of taxinieters of this chara acter isy Well understoodand needsno ex, planation here. Suiiice it to saythatvvhen the ia'g 6 ispulled, that is, thrown down,

indicates ythat the cab is occupied and that theineter is connected tothedrii'fing mechanism for metering the distance ywhich the passengertravels. [When the flag is raised,

as shown `in Fig. 1, it is an indicationy that i the cab is unoccupiedand is l'or hire, and that the taximeter is disconnected from thedriving mechanism so that no 'registration' being made on saidftaXimeterfor tariff. A similar instrument also suitable for this The cab'lias a.passengerfs seat in purpose is marketed by the American TaximeterCompany of New York. Such a taximL eter is connected by a. suitableflexible driving connection to either the iront wheels or to thetransmission, and t-he flag controls the clutching ot' this drivingshaft to the registering mechanism. At the same time the flag throwsinto operation suitable c any time consumed when not running.

clock mechanism, so that registration'on the to depressor release thecontact spring 9 'out' of `engagement with thestationary contact spring10 so as to open the circuit including these two contacts. "f

The krear seat 3 which is adapted toV be occu ied .bv a aassengeixis)rovided"withl J n l contacts'll and 12, which are normally sepa- Yrated by the coil springs vcontainedy within the seat. Thecontacts 11and 12 lmay. be duplicated,throughout the 'area of the seat and maybeduplicated on all of the seats provided Within the vehicle. I term theseat 3' a load platform, since that is its fundamental purpose. I haveshown merely` the two contacts 11and 12 as sufficiently illus-V trativeof the necessary construction. The contacts 11 and 12are connected 1nseries in aV circuit with the contacts 9 and 10, as

will be apparent from the following. -The operating shaft for the clutchwhich connects the 'engine to they driving shaft leading to the gear boxand thence to the rear wheels, is shown at 15, vthis clutch Loperatingv'shaft Vhas Yanoperating lever or arm 1G keyed or otherwise securedthereto,` and a clutch pedal lever or arm' 17 kloosely mounted on the'end of said shaft'lk'and held between thebearing collar18. and the. hub19 of said operating lever 16. The pedal lever 17 hasy a suitableoperating pedal 19 adapted n to be engaged by the Vfoot of the loperatorfor. rthrowing the clutch out and `forletting it in. The-arms 16 andv 17are connected by an ad justable' stop comprising a set screw thread-- edthroughfthe end of the operating arm 16l and engaging the arm 17. f Thisbolt issuitc ably lockedin' positionbyfa lock nut, all as `is 'wellunderstood inthe art.

The arm17 and said adjustable bolt 2O are held in contact by a spring 21so thatthe pedal lever 17 and pedal 19 are not positively connectedtothe shaft 15 for return4r motion. yHence,

no leverage'can be exerted upon the'shaft 15 vto force it back intokposition when the pawl4 and ratchet'mechanism tends to hold it out, aswill be described later.,

'T have mounted upon the shaft 15 Yand securedfto Athevengine frame ahousing 22r comprising Vtwo complementary halves comprising bearingportions 28 and between them a ratchet wheel 24 which is keyed to theshaft 15, as indicated at 25.v The teeth of this ratchet 24 are adaptedto be engaged by a pawl 26 whichk hasV cooperating teeth. The pawl 26 isguided in a suitable recess formed Vin Vthe lower part of the casing 22.The pawl is preferably rect-angular in cross sectionY and titsrelatively snugly in its guiding recess, so that alignment oit' theteeth ot' the pawl 26 with the teeth of the ratchet wheel 24 ismaintained. The bottom part of the casing 22 has extending langes'27, towhich Hanges is secured the housing 28 Vof solenoid 29. The magnet29comprises a plunger 30 and an armature 31, this armature being adaptedto be attracted to the poles ofthe magnet for raising the plunger 30.The ratchet `member 26 issupported upon the upper end of the plunger 30and is thereby raised so that the teeth 32 thereof are brought intoengagement with theteeth 33 on the pawl 24.' Thus, when the magnet soYis energized these two sets of teeth are yield ingly held in engagementwith each other.

The magnet 29 is included in 'circuit with the Contact springs V9 and'10in the meter 5,

land is connected in series with'the contacts 11 and 12 in the passengerscat 3 to the storage Vbattery 35, or other suitable source or current.The storage battery 351s connected at one side to ground, as indicatedat 36. This is usual in most typesof AwiringY The opposite pole ot .the

in automobiles. battery isfconnected as by the wirev 37 directly to thecontact llyin'the rear seat 3, the cooperating contact12 being connectedby wire 38 to one terminal ofvthe magnet 29.

The opposite terminal of the magnet 29'I is connected by wire 39 to thespring 10 in the n taximeter 5, the cooperating spring 9 being connectedto'ground, as indicatedV at 40. A full metallic circuit may beemployed'instead. i

The vcircuit. is normally ,open at contacts 11 and12, and normallyYclosed :at contacts vratchet 24. Hence the clutchpedal 19 may bedepressed to disengagevthe,clutch and release to reengage the clutchywithout any interference.. I y

Assume that a passenger occupies therear seat. The weight of thepassenger closes the contact 11-12, and as previously explained', asmanyof these contacts may be connectedin parallel in the rear seatcushion 3as may be desired. Closing Vof the circuit at the contacts 11%12immediately results in energization of the magnet 292 with theresultthat it raisesits armature 31 and brings the vpawl 26 intoengagement with the The operation of the mechanism is as kfollows:--

ratchet 24. Thus the two sets of teeth are held in contact and if thedriver now atshaft which leads into the transmission or gear box. Inorder for the driver to be able to reengage the clutch of the engine, itis necessary that the circuit of magnet 29 be broken, and this can beaccomplished only by pulling the iiag 6; that is to say, putting themeter into operative condition, or by opening the circuit at thecontacts 11 and 12 by discharging the passenger. Thus, in order to beginthe haul of a passenger, it is necessary to throw the taximeter intooperation in order to be able to connect the engine to the rear wheelsfor driving purpose.

Since the purpose of the invention is to prevent the hauling of apassenger Without operation of the taximeter, it will be seen thatnumerous modifications and variations may be made, and that theparticular scheme which I have shown is not the only wayin which. theinvention can be carried out.

I do not intend to be limited to the details shown nor described, exceptas set forth in the following claims.

I claim r Y A l. In combination, a clutch shaft, a split housing looselymounted on a shaft, a ratchet wheel secured to the shaft and mounted insaid 'split housing, said split housing having `flanges at its lowerend, magnet mechanism secured to said flanges, a pawl guided in thehousing, ksaid 'pawl being adapted to engagefsaid ratchet, and aconnectiony between said magnet and said pawl. f y

2. In combination, a clutch shaft, a split housing loosely mounted on ashaft, a `ratchet wheel secured to the shaft and mounted in said splithousing, said split housing having flanges at its lower end, magnetmechanism secured to said flanges, a pawl guided in the housing, saidpa'wl being adapted to engage said ratchet, and a connection'betweenrsaid magnet and said pawl, a clutch pedal loosely'` mounted onsaidclutchshaft, and an operating arm secured to said shaft and engage-rable by said clutch pedal. y

3. In combination, a clutch operating shaft having an operating armfixed there-v upon, a pedal arm loosely mounted thereupon, but adaptedto engage the operating` arm for throwing the clutch out of operation, aratchet secured to said shaft, a pawl adapted to be yieldingly held incontact with the ratchet to permit the clutch operating shaft to beactuatedto throw out the clutch, but to hold said shaft against returnmovement.

4. In combination, a clutch shaft, an operating arm securedrthereto, apedal arm loosely mounted thereupon and engaging said first arm, aratchet secured to said shaft, a pawlfor said ratchet, and magneticmeans for throwing saidrpawl into engages ment with said ratchet toprevent movement ,of the clutch operating shaft'in a direction to rclosethe clutch. Y

In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this 26th day ofNovember, 1923.

LELAND neoonsrnnn

